My wife was charged with 136 (1) (a) in an accident. She came to a stop at a stop sign at an intersection which preceded a 5 lane main street. The 5 lane street had a stoplight at this intersection, which was red at the time. There were 4 cars sitting at the red light. She proceeded into the intersection and as she was in the intersection the light turned green and she was hit by a vehicle who timed the green light in the very last lane. She fought the charge of "failing to stop" because technically she did stop at the stop sign. The charges were dropped. She just got a summons to reappear for the exact same charge. Any advice?

So it sounds like the charge was withdrawn and then a summons was issued. They are allowed to do this if they submit the paperwork to the court within 6 months of the incident. Has it been 6 months? If not you're going to have to be prepared to defend the case in the same way you had originally planned. If yes, you're in luck....again.

Are you sure it is the same charge? It seems strange to me that they would drop the charge and then charge you with the same thing again. Usually they re-charge with a different more appropriate charge.

Did they drop the original charge before it went to trial, or did you actually have a trial and were found not guilty?

The summons date is NOT a trial date. You have to show up, but all they are doing is asking you if you want to plead guilty now, or if you want to set a trial date for later. You want to tell them that you would like disclosure and a trial date.

You can't be tried twice for the same offence. If it actually went to trial the first time then the charge should not have been re laid.If the charge was withdrawn before trial, a summons could be issued for the same charge with the consent of the Attorney General, or Crown Attorney.

She spoke to a prosecuting attorney and appeared before a judge, and it was agreed upon that the charge would be "squashed". She was informed at that time that they had the right to recharge with a different charge within 6 months. It's been less than 6 months, but the new summons has the same charge (136 (1) (a). This is why this is a head scratcher. The reason that the charge was dropped in the first place was because she did in fact come to a complete stop at the stop sign prior to entering the intersection thus making the 136 1 a not an accurate charge.

If the summons date is more than 6 months, then you simply show up and tell the JP/Judge that this is the same charge they charged her with last time and it was the wrong charge and was dropped and it should be dropped again. Since the 6 months have passed they can not lay another new charge again.

If the summons date is LESS than 6 months, then you do NOT want to say anything about it being the wrong charge. The only thing you want to say is that you would like disclsoure and to set a trial date as you plan to plead not guilty. You do NOT want to tell the prosecutor or anybody that it is the same charge as last time. If you tell them it is the same charge again, then they can still drop it and re-lay another charge again. Of course they might realize their mistake at the summons date, but you do not want to point it out to them. If they do not see the error, then a trial date will be set and this trial date will most likely be more than 6 months from original, which means you can then tell them that it is the same charge as before and should be dropped again.

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